Cause & Effect 06 – Vandals

“A stylized image of the Emperor is stenciled on a nearby wall. The word ‘obey’ reads below in basic. Imperial advertizing or social commentary?“

Welcome back to Cause & Effect. We’re going to change things up today. Instead of rolling randomly on the table presented in V is for Vignettes, I will consult the table based on the above caption. My goal is to show that you can easily take a few sentences and turn that into an interesting encounter. These are my results:

Instigator Poor citizen

Action Harasses

Target A cantina or nearby building

Escalation Has unavoidable Imperial entanglements

Escalation The same subject as a Crew members Motivation is involved (Overthrow the Empire/Support the Empire)

Does the Crew stop the vandal? Offer words of encouragement? Defend them from the inevitable Imperial patrol that rounds the corner at the most inopportune time?

OVERVIEW Crew witness a youth vandalizing a nearby building wall/door/vehicle

TWIST An Imperial patrol rounds the corner, possibly as the Crew interacts with the youth.

Capsule: Shaneeka is passionate in her belief that the Empire is causing more harm than good. She knows that a lot of people feel the same way she does, but are afraid to express themselves. She expresses her opinions about the Empire through her art and hopes that it will cause others to question their loyalty and give hope to those who feel that they are powerless to oppose the Empire.

Stat Block: Use the Street Toughs stat block and pretend that those 4 minions congealed into the lovely, artistic Shaneeka. She is however, unarmed (except for spray paint).

Name: Lt. Mal Jiktar

Tags: m-Human/lanky/long nose/condescending

Role: Imperial officer

Stat Block: Use the Imperial Naval Officer stat block for Mal. Replace Imperial Navy Minion Group with Imperial Stormtroopers Minion Group for purposes of the Tactical Direction special ability

SET UP While the Crew is out and about, they spot a graffiti artist working their trade.

The Crew can choose whether or not to interact with Shaneeka. She doesn’t pay them any attention unless they approach her. That being said…

If the Crew approach Shaneeka or they stand there watching her, after a few moments (or questions if they are talking) an Imperial squad being led by Lt. Mal Jiktar will round the corner and enter the scene. It won’t take Lt. Mal long to figure out what is going down….crime.

If the Crew are with Shaneeka and were pleasant while talking to her, she will defend her actions and hope that the Crew backs her up. The Imperial forces will try to arrest her (and possibly the Crew if they can’t talk their way out of it), however she will not go quietly and will assault Lt. Mal with her bag of spray paint…

If the Crew were unpleasant or were standing at a distance watching, she will turn to them and yell: They found us! and promptly throw her bag of spray paint at one of the Crew, hoping that the Imperials go after them instead of her.

AFTERMATH

If the Crew was with Shaneeka:

Lt. Mal Jiktar will assume that the Crew is with Shaneeka and have them arrested…unless they can talk (or fight) their way out of the situation.

If the Crew is able to get Shaneeka out of the Imperial situation alive, she will thank them and will offer them assistance if she can in the future (a boost die to an appropriate check or a favor that seems appropriate for her character).

If the Crew gets stuck with the bag:

Lt. Mal Jiktar will assume that the Crew is with Shaneeka and have them arrested…unless they can talk (or fight) their way out of the situation. Shaneeka will likely be fired upon on stun setting, unless the Crew begins to fight. They then target the Crew.

ADDITIONAL TWISTS

Resisting arrest could result in further complications, possibly additional 5 Obligation Criminal.

Instead of arresting the Crew, perhaps Lt. Mal has them preform a job for him on the sly.

Shaneeka is likely a Rebel sympathizer, perhaps a member of the Alliance. She might offer them work or recommend them to the Rebel Alliance. Which could result in them trying to get a hold of the Crew.

Lt. Mal might be open to bribes.

Maybe the Stormtroopers are unable to hit Shaneeka and the Lt. insists that the Crew bring her back to him or else…